Activities for the Advent Season at Naggulu Parish

1. Celebration of the Eucharist

Daily Masses  -  Monday to Friday [6:30 a.m.; 7:00 a.m.; 1:00 p.m.], Saturdays [6:30 a.m.; 7:00 a.m.;] with Advent homilies/reflections/exhortations.

Sunday Masses — the usual Sunday programme. Follow the homilies as we walk the Advent journey.  

2. Advent Wreath

Our Advent wreath, which has been blessed on this first Sunday of Advent, will remain in position for the entire Season. Make use of this symbol.

3. Holy hour with Vespers

Every Thursday evening (5:30 p.m.) there will be an exposition of the blessed sacrament, as is always the case, for an hour. During the exposition we shall:

- recite psalms, listen to the word of God and have exhortations/reflections with Advent themes.

The hourly service before the Blessed Sacrament will be preparing us to be awake as we wait in joyful expectation for the coming of our Saviour Jesus Christ as Emmanuel (God with us) and as one who comes to judge the living and the dead.

We shall be therefore expected to progress towards renunciation of all ways which prevent us from receiving Jesus when he comes in our lives.

4. Penance

Although this is not a penitential season, all the same as a way of giving a chance to as many faithful as possible who would like to make their peace with God during this season of Advent, we shall retain our normal Saturday morning confessions (7:30 a.m.) and also encourage everyone to use any available opportunity to request for the Sacrament of Penance.

5. Visiting the Sick and Elderly

The Liturgy leaders and the Good Samaritans will team up to visit the sick and elderly in our communities.

We are all encouraged to be part of this arrangement. You can either point out a sick/elderly person, donate something for these people or join the team as they make the visits. It is also praised worthy to make your personal programme of visiting an elderly or a sick person in your community.

May the Season of Advent 2020, prepare us to joyfully meet Our Lord when he comes.

Tue 01, Dec 2020 10:12 am

THE LATE FRANCIS XAVIER KITAKA

Mr. Francis Xavier Kitaka loved St. Jude Thaddeus and he promoted the devotion to this Saint wherever he went, whether in Uganda or abroad. Mr. Kitaka rarely missed attending the novena to this Saint here at Naggulu. This made him part of Naggulu. He always said that this saint was his Lawyer.

"As a devotee of St. Jude Thaddeus, he did not think about his personal interests only, but he also catered for the wellbeing of his fellow devotees and gave his unreserved support to the development of the National shrine of St. Jude, which is at the same time our parish church. He was so determined to see that we build a magnificent shrine for St. Jude that he accepted to be the Chairman of the Building Committee and played that role very well. So his passing away is a big blow to St. Jude’s devotion in Uganda and to Naggulu Parish as well. " Rev. Fr. Godfrey Kyeyune - Parish Priest, Naggulu.

May Mother Mary and St. Jude intercede for him to God. 

Mon 21, Sep 2020 13:09 pm

JESUS PUT OUT HIS HAND

Dear Parishioners,

I almost got the temptation of letting my faith waver, when I asked myself whether it was relevant, during our present situation, to say “I am a Catholic and happy about IT —  Rejoicing in our Catholic practices”!!

I certainly had begun to sink, then my guardian angel helped me to cry out to Jesus: ‘Lord! Save me!’  Jesus put out his hand and at once and held me. His hand was in the form of an Angel he sent me on Wednesday last week (of course not literally) when we went to Mulago ICU. As we were alighting from the lift on the 5th floor, there was somebody in an orange body bag, on one of those infamous trolleys, waiting to be taken down. We went out, the trolley went in. Somebody had just succumbed to cancer and we were going for cancer treatment! One day we shall be in some sort of body bag whenever that happens. May be ours will not be an orange body bag, but we shall be covered in something and be carried until we get lowered down, down, down.

The hand of Jesus - the Angel (again not literally) was telling me; man of little faith why did you doubt? Should you not be happy that you are a Catholic? That you believe that your friend who is going down in that orange body bag, has just passed on? He/she (I did not ask whether it was a man or woman) has to go through that in order to be alive forever. You are blessed that this is your belief or don’t you believe thus any more. Are you not ashamed that you do not find the relevance of writing the Parishioner column because of the present hard times?

Jesus rescued me, and I resolved to go ahead with the column and even tell those who read it that Covid-19 or whatever circumstances, I am happy to be a Catholic who believes in the hereafter and who believes in purgatory. That even if I am put in an orange body bag, with some purification to undergo so that I may achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven, for nothing unclean goes to heaven (Rev. 21:27), I will still be on my way no matter how long it takes. (CCC 1030). I am happy to be rooted in that doctrine. That even when I go in a body bag with my mortal sins forgiven, there may be still many impurities in me, specifically venial sins and the temporal punishment due to sins already forgiven. Why not rejoice that I firmly believe that?

After seeing my Doctor, as I was sitting in the room where various drugs are administered to us, just in front of me, lying on a bed was a man. This man is battling cancer too. I looked at his arms, there seems to be not a single muscle left on them. He could not turn on the bed, he had to be assisted by his attendant who was a lady. When he wanted to go out for one reason or another, I saw the lady lift up this man and carried him in her arms like a baby!

The Angel was still active. You can still walk and sit in a chair for your drug, but he has to be carried like a baby? And you say you should not rejoice that as Catholic you know that these are stages of your life? Even when you get to that stage, it will be like Jesus demonstrated to Peter, James, and John at the transfiguration, that you go through suffering to get to glorification.

I thank Jesus for putting out his hand for all whose faith is being challenged during the Corona virus pandemic, and manage to cry out “Lord save me”. Some of these could save a shilling or two by not giving anything to us here at the presbytery, but they give something to keep us going. A bunch of matooke, posho, rice cooking oil, blue and, soap name it. Others are so keen on giving their tithe! May God bless you all. I am sure many are continually praying for us.

I ‘saw’ the  Lord and promise you that you will also see him. If you feel you are sinking? You know what to do.

I wish you a great week, which we shall end with a great celebration; The Assumption of the B.V. Mary. May she intercede for us that our faith may not weaver.          

Sun 09, Aug 2020 08:08 am

WHAT A WEEK!

Dear Parishioners,

Welcome to another week. What a week we’ve just ended! Of course it has not been far different from the other weeks of these Covid-19   pandemic times. But a number of sad and joyful things have happened close to us as Naggulu Pariah Community, which are worth mentioning.

On Saturday 25th July, as we were preparing to begin the week, our Choir Director Mr. Charles Dickens Awany and Ms Victoria Awono a chorister of the Evangelical Choir, were married in Holy Matrimony at St. James Bbiina Parish. We reported this in our issue of 26/07/2020. I once again say congratulations Charles and Victoria.  May God bless your married life today, tomorrow and many, many years to come.

Then we celebrated the birthday of a very young youth patron, Marcella Ocwo on Wednesday 29th July. I pray for you Madam Patron that you continue celebrating many other birthdays. May God protect you from the  Corona virus and all evils threatening our lives today.

On a sad note, on that same day, we lost Mr. James Genza, a member of our community (from St. Kizito) who has been battling with a heart related condition for some time. May he rest in eternal  peace and may his family be consoled by the faith we all share, which makes us hope that one day we shall all be together singing “hosanna in the highest” in the heavenly kingdom.

Friday 30th July, dawned with our “CHURCH PROJECT TEAM” channel, awash with Feast Day best wishes to Rev. Fr. Ignatius Mbaziira. He was celebrating the feast of St. Ignatius of Loyola, his patron saint. I add my voice to the many in wishing you Father Mbaziira, God’s blessings in your ministry. Like St. Ignatius of Loyola, may you bring many to Jesus and be a sign of God’s mercy to all of us as we meditate on these words: "What will it profit a man to gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?"

What a week! On the political scene, politicians seem to be more restless than ever. We here of aspirants for political positions filling in forms for this or that positions. They want to be nominated and go out to canvass for votes. Men and women are busy strengthening their positions in their parties, while others are crossing from one party to another; and all are saying that they are doing this not for themselves but to be of service to their fellow brothers and sisters. Oh, that is wonderful!!

 More blessed to give than to receive

There was the beggar who sat at the temple gate every day, begging for his living. One day he heard that the King was coming to the Temple and he was all excited, sure that the king would give him enough alms so he wouldn’t have to beg any more. He eagerly awaited the arrival of the king but when the king came, the King did a strange thing. Instead of giving alms, he begged for alms himself. Perplexed, the beggar put his hand into his bag and reluctantly puts a few grains of rice into the king’s hands. Thanking him, the king departed, putting back to the beggar’s bag the grains he received, much to the disappointment of the beggar. At the end of the day the beggar returned home frustrated. But when he poured out the contents of his bag to check his day’s collection, to his great surprise, he discovered a few grains of gold among the rice. How he wished he had given more to the king! (Ravindra Nath Tagore; quoted by Fr. Botelho).(http://frtonyshomilies.com/) Fr. Tony

In the midst of all this, the words of Jesus are still relevant today as they were when he fed the thousands. “….give them something to eat yourselves”. Whatever we go through everyday, we are called upon to get out those five loaves and two fish from our stores, and feed the thousands.  Then every week will become meaningful to all of us as we become givers and not receivers.

Sat 01, Aug 2020 14:08 pm

THE ALTAR CROSS

Dear Parishioners,

Let me say it with the Psalmist:——- “Many, O LORD my God, are the wonders which You have done, And Your thoughts toward us; there is none to compare with You. If I would declare and speak of them, They would be too numerous to count  (Ps 40:5).

I hope we all see the many wonders THE LORD our God does in our lives everyday. Admittedly we are going through difficult times due to the Covid-19 pandemic, but that should not blind us to the numerous wonders of THE LORD our God in the universe.

That you are reading this, means you are still around. See the wonders God has done for you? Planning to make good use of the time He is giving you? There is a reason why he called home your neighbor and left you to continue struggling in this storm tossed world.

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This Sunday I would like to touch on a point we dealt with some time back in the Parishioner but still disturbs many. The question of the direction of the figure of Christ on the cross, when the crucifix is placed on the Altar during Mass. The other day I saw two people almost “fighting” about this. One would make the figure of Christ face the people and the other would come and make it face the Altar. This went on until I stepped in and made it face the Altar; that ended the drama which was beginning to attract the attention of the congregation.

I am going to give a rather lengthy answer from a familiar Liturgist to those who read the Parishioner Liturgy column. This is Legionary of Christ Father Edward McNamara, professor of liturgy and sacramental theology and director of the Sacerdos Institute at the Regina Apostolorum university.

Q: I am writing to ask for some clarifications regarding the orientation of the cross if it is placed on a freestanding altar (Benedictine setting) in a versus populum Mass. Where should the corpus be facing? Is it toward the priest? Or toward the people? I saw in EWTN’s daily Mass that it is utilizing the Benedictine setting wherein the cross is placed on the altar and has a double corpus, one is facing the priest and the other facing the people. — J.G., Cebu, Philippines

(As I pointed out earlier, it is lengthy, you even have to turn to page 4, but the information is very important. Those who attended one of the Archdiocesan Liturgy Workshop here at Naggulu, will remember that this was one of the topics treated. Editor)   

A: The indications in the General Instruction of the Roman Missal (GIRM) are sparse regarding the direction of the figure of Christ on the cross. We have the following texts:

“117. […] Also on or close to the altar, there is to be a cross with a figure of Christ crucified. The candles and the cross adorned with a figure of Christ crucified may also be carried in the Entrance Procession. On the altar itself may be placed the Book of the Gospels, distinct from the book of other readings, unless it is carried in the Entrance Procession.

“122. On reaching the altar, the priest and ministers make a profound bow. The cross adorned with a figure of Christ crucified and perhaps carried in procession may be placed next to the altar (the bold letters are mine) to serve as the altar cross, in which case it ought to be the only cross used; otherwise it is put away in a dignified place .…

“188. In the procession to the altar, the acolyte may carry the cross, walking between two ministers with lighted candles. Upon reaching the altar, the acolyte places the cross upright near the altar so that it may serve as the altar cross; otherwise, he puts it in a worthy place. Then he takes his place in the sanctuary.

“308. There is also to be a cross, with the figure of Christ crucified upon it, either on the altar or near it, where it is clearly visible to the assembled congregation. It is appropriate that such a cross, which calls to mind for the faithful the saving Passion of the Lord, remain near the altar even outside of liturgical celebrations.”

“350. Furthermore, great attention is to be paid whatever is directly associated with the altar and the Eucharistic celebration, e.g., the altar cross and the cross carried in procession.”

It is worth noting that the text does not actually use the term “crucifix,” although this is clearly meant in Nos. 11, 122 and 308.

The document also allows this cross to be placed on or near the altar. There is no requirement that it be placed directly upon the altar itself.

The GIRM does underline that there should be only one altar cross. This is in line with the Church’s longstanding practice, although, before the liturgical reform, the whole assembly, priest and people, faced both altar and crucifix in the same direction and the rubrics at times directed the priest to look at the crucifix.

The custom of the single cross can also be seen from a decree of Pope Benedict XIV (1740-1758) which established that another cross was not necessary if a large crucifix was painted or sculptured as part of an altarpiece (Const. Accepimus, decr. 1270).

Although this decree is no longer operative, its principles could be applied to current situations such as that of a large crucifix, suspended from the ceiling or placed on the wall behind the altar.

It is well known that before becoming pope, Benedict XVI advocated the use of a sizable crucifix upon the altar itself as a means of establishing what he called a liturgical east or a means of focusing priest and faithful on the central mystery of redemption made present at Mass and symbolized by the crucifix.

During his pontificate, the presence of such a crucifix upon the altar became habitual at papal Masses, and the practice has continued under Pope Francis. The practice was briefly elucidated in 2009 by a communication from the office of the Master of Papal Liturgical Celebrations on the importance of the central location of the cross during the Eucharistic celebration.

Although occasionally there have been two crosses present at some papal Masses, especially outside of Rome, thus far no decree or other legal document has been promulgated instituting a change in legislation. Therefore, the norms of the GIRM that there should be one altar cross retain their validity and legal force.

Therefore, while respecting the unicity of the cross there are several legitimate options offered with respect to the location of the altar cross, and present legislation does not prefer one solution over another. Hence, the crucifix may be located on, next to, immediately behind or suspended above the altar (the bolding is mine). It should be visibly related to the altar as viewed by the people.

As Bishop Peter J. Elliott comments in his liturgy handbook, “The liturgical crucifix is not primarily for the private devotion of the celebrant but is a sign in the midst of the Eucharistic assembly proclaiming that the Mass is the same Sacrifice as Calvary.” Thus, strictly speaking, the altar crucifix is in relationship to the altar, and not just to the priest.

Since the cross is specifically related to the altar, the corpus is usually turned toward the altar during Mass.

The rubrics of the Ceremonial of Bishops in use before the conciliar reforms already foresaw the possibility of the altar versus populum. This book, while mandating that the cross be visible to all, also prescribed that the corpus be placed toward the altar (“cum imagine sanctissimi Crucifixi versa ad interiorem altaris faciem”).

In 1966 Notitiae issued a response to a query on this point given the novelty of the freestanding altars and the precise doubt as to what direction the corpus should face.

First, it recognizes the new situation that the former law no longer applies. Second, it says that it does not seem opportune either an altar cross so small as to be invisible nor one so large that it impedes the visibility of the rites.

Finally, it addresses the question of an altar cross not placed upon the altar. It says: “Separate from the altar there are three possibilities: placing the processional cross before the altar with the corpus facing the celebrant, although this does not always combine well with other elements of the sanctuary; a large cross hanging from the ceiling or placed upon the wall of the apse. In the two latter cases, another cross upon the altar is not necessary but a single large cross, which, in celebrations facing the people is not incensed first but when the priest, as he moves around the altar, faces both the cross and the altar.” Notitiae 2 (1966): 290-291, n.101. (unofficial translation).

With respect to the EWTN solution of having an altar crucifix designed with a figure on both sides: Although there do not seem to be present norms to forbid this practice, it was not permitted in earlier times. Some older liturgical manuals recommended the use of other images on the side of the cross facing the people, such as the fish symbol or even another image of the Redeemer such as the Good Shepherd or King of Kings.

When these suggestions were made, freestanding altars and Mass facing the people were exceptional. This is no longer the case, and I believe that the solution of the double crucifix is a legitimate option for today’s liturgy.

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Throw them out?

The year was 1770, and in a small Italian church, two altar boys prepared for Benediction. Annibale Della Genga and Francesco Castiglioni entered the sacristy, put on their albs, and grabbed the heavy brass candlesticks. And then they began to bicker. Arguing over who would stand on the priest’s right for the procession, their quibble escalated into a shouting match. Alarmed parishioners turned their heads to the back of the Church to see the commotion, and that’s when it happened: Castiglioni cracked Della Genga over the head with his candlestick.
Blood dripped from Della Genga’s injury, and both boys began shoving each other. Shocked parishioners screamed, “Throw them out! Throw them out!” So, the embarrassed priest grabbed the boys, led them to the door, and tossed them out of the church.

Now fast-forward several decades to 1825. Half a million people gathered in Rome for the great Jubilee celebration. The Jubilee occurred every 25 years, and its grand climax was the opening of the Holy Door at St. Peter’s Basilica. Traditionally, the Pope would knock on the door three times with a large silver hammer and sing, “Open unto me the gates of justice!” On the third knock, the door would swing open, and the Pope would lead his people through. The symbolism was rich: pilgrims from all over the world coming back home to the Church, following their leader through the great porta fidei, the “door of Faith.” That Jubilee year, in front of thousands of pilgrims, Cardinal Della Genga made his way to the door. It was fifty-five years after the candlestick incident. Cardinal Della Genga who had become Pope Leo XII neared the door. Turning to the Cardinal beside him—Cardinal Castiglioni, the Pope said, “Let me have the hammer.” With a sly grin, Castiglioni replied, “Just like I gave you the candlestick?” Amazingly, four years later Castiglioni succeeded his friend and became Pope, taking the name Pius VIII. Now if you told any of those pew-sitters back in 1770 that they had two future-Popes in the back of their church, they’d have laughed you out of the building: “Those two boys? The ones shoving and whacking each other with candlesticks? Today’s Gospel gives us the good news that God can change even “weeds” to wheat and that we should be patient. (Rev Greg Willits quoted by Fr. Kayala in his blog). (Fr. Tony) http://frtonyshomilies.com/

Sat 18, Jul 2020 15:07 pm

CALLED TO SOW THE WORD

Dear friends of Our Lady and St. Jude  Parish, Naggulu,

Greetings and best wishes in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Today we are concluding our Second Solemn Novena to St. Jude. I thank God for taking us safely through the nine days. I also thank all who prayed with us on Radio Maria and our face-book page. May we be strengthened by St. Jude’s intercession. I know it shall be so since our God is a God whose love for us is everlasting and who is always by our side.

A good number of us have lost relatives and friends these last few days, including a regular member for our 7:00 am Mass, Bernadette Kariisa. May the Lord rest their souls in eternal peace. Because of our faith we hope to meet them when our time to leave this planet comes. Let us just continue to pray for them and ourselves.

Some devotees of St. Jude, in spite of our many announcements, requesting them not to come to Naggulu for the Novena Masses, came and wanted to participate in the Masses. I feel sorry for those we locked out. They may even blame us for doing that. Please remember that the Church, under the present circumstances, is not going to lead a civil obedience campain. We can show our dissatisfaction, and even continue to ask for the opening of places of worship; but under the circumstances, if the powers that be say no, then we shall wait! So my friends who were locked out, this was beyond us.

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And now may I share with you this interesting joke from Fr. Tony Kadavil? It may teach us something.

Four brothers left home for college and became successful doctors and lawyers. Some years later, they had a reunion.   They chatted after having dinner together. They discussed the gifts they had been able to give their elderly mother who lived in a faraway city and decided to open their mother’s thank you letter to each.

The first said, “I had a big house built for Mama.”

The second said, “I had a hundred-thousand-dollar theater built in the house.”

The third said, “I had a Mercedes dealer deliver an SL600 to her.”

The fourth said, “You know how Mama loved reading the Bible, and you know she can’t read anymore because she can’t see very well? Well I met a preacher who told me about a parrot that can recite the entire Bible. It took twenty preachers 12 years to teach him. I had to pledge to contribute $100,000 to the church, but it was worth it. Mama just has to name the chapter and verse and the parrot will recite it.” The other brothers were impressed.

Then they solemnly opened the thank-you letters sent to them by their mom. Mama wrote:

“Milton, the house you built is so huge. I live in only one room, but I have to clean the whole house. Thanks anyway.”

“Michael, you gave me an expensive theater with Dolby sound, it could hold 50 people, but all my friends are dead, I’ve lost my hearing and I’m nearly blind. I’ll never use it. Thank you for the gesture just the same.”

“Marvin, I am too old to travel. I stay at home and I have my groceries delivered, so I never use the Mercedes. The thought was good. Thanks.”

“Dearest Gerald”, she wrote to her fourth son. “You have the good sense to know what your mother likes. I cooked the chicken you sent. It was absolutely delicious!”

A PEACEFUL SUNDAY.

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Sat 11, Jul 2020 16:07 pm

THE 2ND SOLEMN ANNUAL N0VENA TO ST. JUDE 2020 SATURDAY 4TH TO SUNDAY 12TH JULY, 2020

MESSAGE FROM THE NATIONAL DIRECTOR

Peace and blessings to all devotees of St. Jude Thaddeus in our beloved pearl of Africa, Uganda; Nangina Deanery in Kenya and beyond.

This Saturday, 4th July, we begin our 2nd Annual Solemn Novena to St. Jude. As we are aware, we shall not be able to congregate in our Shrine for the Masses and Novena prayers. A number of announcements have been made on Radio Maria to this effect. Let us participate in our Novena prayers from wherever we shall be; homes, places of work etc…. We have also reached out to all our chairmen in the different Dioceses, informing them of the same. PLEASE DO NOT COME TO NAGGULU FOR THE NOVENA!

We have made arrangements with Radio Maria to broadcast daily Novena Masses at 1:00 pm. So tune in to Radio Maria at that hour for the Eucharistic Celebration for the nine days. On the closing day (12th July), we hope to telecast the Mass on one of the Television Channels, we shall be letting you know which TV and when.

MASS INTENTIONS

Although you cannot come to Naggulu, you can still send your Mass intentions to the Shrine. We shall pray for you. You can either come to the Parish Office and have your intentions recorded or you may send them to Rev. Fr. Ignatius Mbaziira on this number: 0779208556.

I wish you a blessed Novena. Please pray that this Covid-19 Pandemic may go away so that the children of God may go on with their normal lives.

Once again I remind you, DO NOT COME TO THE SHRINE FOR THE NOVENA MASSES. Just follow us on Radio Maria and the Parish Facebook page. God bless you all. And may St. Jude Thaddeus pray for us.

Lovingly,

Rev. Fr. Godfrey Kyeyune

National Director.

Thu 02, Jul 2020 14:07 pm

BANNS OF MARRIAGE

Mr. Mugisha Robert of Kasangati and Miss. Awori Winnie of Kasangati.

Mr. Akiriza Edward of Naggulu and Miss Atuheire Ronah Maria Mbuya.

Sun 28, Jun 2020 16:06 pm

HOSPITALITY

May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all!

First, I condole with all of you who have lost loved ones, and worse still we could not gather in the church to have requiem Masses for them due to the present situation. May you be comforted by the hope of everlasting life which we all share through our faith in the risen Lord. May I mention here, Patricia Atimango, the latest member of our community to departed from us. She was a regular active participator in the 1:00 pm daily Mass and the Thursday Evening Holy Hour. She was suddenly taken from us. May Patricia and all our other members of the community who have been called back to the Father, rest in eternal peace.  

Secondly, I rejoice with those of you who have been blessed in various ways. Some of your family ties have been strengthened because of spending more time together.  Some have been blessed with children, while others have recorded a number of material or spiritual blessings. May our loving God show us all, how to profitably use the blessings he has showered upon us.

Needless to say, a good number have come out with all sorts of challenges, from domestic violence to lack of basic human needs. As many tell us: “turn the challenges into opportunities!” Personally I would like to add; ‘make a deep reflection on these challenges and invoke the Holy Spirit to show you how to turn them into opportunities’.

While you are at it, remember that as Christians one of the ways we are called to live the Gospel, is through practicing hospitality. Welcome and assist  preachers, priests and indeed all your brothers and sisters (especially the needy) around you. In today’s world, where materialism and consumerism dominate our lives to the point of turning some of our homes into isolated fortresses with iron gates, intruder alarms, and surveillance cameras, it is becoming less and less possible to practice hospitability. We are getting more inclined to believe in competition, power, influence and success as the only things that matter. We are headed towards each one living their lives at the expense of others.  It is becoming more difficult for some to look beyond their gates and see if there are some people around them in real need.    

Mother Teresa of Calcutta used to say that the Gospel is written on ones fingers. She would then hold up her fingers, one at a time, and word per word say: “You-Did-It-To-Me. She would then add: “At the end of your life, your five fingers will either excuse you or accuse you of doing it unto the least of these.”

It should not be too difficult for us to have our five fingers excuse us instead of accusing us, at the end of our lives. For most of our backgrounds here, value hospitality! When I was growing up, it was the order of the day  for neighbors to exchange baskets of their harvest! A thirsty traveler would simply stop at any home and ask for some water to drink, and water would be offered without any questions asked!![Today some will say who knows they may poison you etc….]. Even if we may say that times have changed, the spirit behind hospitality will always remain the same. Whether it is the time of Elisha the prophet or toady.

It is that very Spirit that prompts a few of you these days to send a message containing some assistance to the Parish. I just see a message on my phone: “You have received 20.000= for parish upkeep, or 5,000= for offertory”. I know very well that it is not because these few people of God do not have a series of needs in their homes, but because they have the Spirit of hospitality. They have come to understand that: “whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple, truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward”.

Like the woman of Shunem (2 Kg 4:8ff), it is time to make a space for God in our lives.  She made physical space for the holy man of God. We are called to make space for Christ and his message in our lives. Question is:  “Where do I find this space?

Sun 28, Jun 2020 16:06 pm

WE REJOICE IN THE HOLY TRINITY

Brethren of Naggulu Parish,

We are still following our Sunday Liturgy on Radios, Televisions, or Livestreaming. The powers that be continue to ignore the fact that in markets, car parks, taxi stages, on roads, in offices and other places of public gathering, people are not observing social distancing and a few other measures put forward to prevent the spread of the Coronavirus; they let them go on with their normal activities; but for places of worship, we are told that we must hold on because we are going to endanger others! Is Covid-19 selective? Does it bring out its teeth to bite, only in places of worship? Well, last Sunday I said, I would not waste my time arguing about opening or not opening our places of worship; let those two questions suffice. Time will tell, but no one can prevent me from meditating on the mysteries of my Salvation; there I am not locked down.

Today we are celebrating one of those great mysteries: The Most Holy Trinity [The Father, Son and Holy Spirit]. We are celebrating a basic doctrine of Faith in Christianity, understandable not with our heads but with our hearts: three distinct Persons in one God, sharing the same Divine Nature, co-equal and co-eternal. We celebrate: ‘one plus one plus one equals one’. To our minds this is “foolishness” but as believers, it is but Wisdom. It is a Mystery! A Mystery which Jesus clearly taught, the Evangelists recorded and the Church defined as a dogma of Christian faith at the Councils of Nicaea (325 A.D.) and Constantinople (381 A.D.).

It is a Mystery which we live in our daily lives as Catholics. Whenever we begin our prayers, we do so in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and end glorifying the Trinity. When it comes to the Sacraments all of them are administered in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit! Blessings are given in the Name of the Holy Trinity.

It is a Mystery we see in the New Testament:

First at the Annunciation, God the Father sends His angel to Mary, God the Holy Spirit comes upon her, the Power of the Most High overshadows her, and God the Son becomes incarnate in her womb  -  [The Trinity].

Then at the baptism of Jesus, when the Son receives baptism from John the Baptist, the Father’s Voice is heard, and the Holy Spirit appears as a Dove. [The Trinity]

Furthermore in John’s Gospel, chapters 15–18, Jesus teaches us the role of each Person of the Holy Trinity: the Father creates and provides for His creatures; God the Son redeems us and reconciles us with God. While God the Holy Spirit sanctifies us, strengthens us, teaches us, counsels us.

The great 20th-century Catholic theologian Father Karl Rahner, SJ [Born: March 5, 1904, Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany and died March 30, 1984, Innsbruck, Austria], was once asked by a priest friend how he should explain the Holy Trinity when preaching. Father Rahner’s reply was simple: “Don’t!” The mystery we celebrate in today’s feast defies not only explanation but also comprehension

What matters for a believer is what the Holy Trinity does in one’s everyday life. He abides in us, is the Source of our hope, courage and strength, is our final destination.

So as we celebrate this great Solemnity, let us live it instead of “thinking” it. No amount of examples and theories will make us understand the Mystery. But we will have a lot to gain if we call upon the Father our creator and provider, and follow Jesus our redeemer and reconciler as we open ourselves to be filled by the Holy Spirit who will  sanctify, strengthen and counsel us. This has happened to many, many of our fore fathers and mothers in the faith!

May God the Father, the Son and Holy Spirit, be with you and take you through the hard times we are experiencing.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. Amen. 

Sat 06, Jun 2020 22:06 pm